23 - 26 April 2020

Tickets:01608 642350

Short Story Competition: Rules

Receipt of your submission, whether postal or online, implies acceptance of the competition rules and non-compliance may result in disqualification.

Eligibility:

The competition is open to writers of all nationalities and all domiciles writing in English, aged 16 years and over by 7 February 2018 (the closing date).

Entries must be the original work of the entrant. If there is any evidence to the contrary, the entry will be immediately disqualified.

Entries must be previously unpublished and be unavailable for view anywhere online or for broadcast, and must not have won or been placed in other competitions.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but should be withdrawn if they are published or win a prize prior to 29 March 2018, the day the winners will be announced. Entry fees will not be refunded.

Your submission(s):

Must be in English.

May be of any genre, on any subject, and in any style.

Should be aimed at adult readers, rather than for children.

Should have a word count not exceeding 2,500 (this does not include the title) for a £5 entry fee, or a word count not exceeding 5,000 for a £8 entry fee. There is no minimum word count.

Will be judged anonymously. Any identifying features on the submission will be disqualified. Entry fees for disqualified submissions will not be refunded.

Should be accompanied by appropriate payment, i.e. £5 per submission up to 2,500 words, or £8 per submission up to 5,000 words, either by cheque or postal order, or online via Paypal.

May be withdrawn in writing or by email. Entry fees for withdrawn submissions will not be refunded.

DEADLINE: 12 Midnight GMT Wednesday 7 February 2018. Postal entries with postmarks of 7 February 2018 will be accepted.

Entrants who wish to make amendments or corrections to their submission must submit a new entry with payment in full of the entry fee. They should mark the new entry ‘Amended’ on the title page and in the name of the file. We will not enter into any correspondence or discussion about amendments or corrections.Please make sure you use the correct postage. ChipLitFest will not cover any shortfall in postage.

Receipt of Entry:

Postal entries – if you require acknowledgement of receipt, please enclose a stamped addressed postcard marked 'ACKNOWLEDGEMENT' with your cover letter, submission and payment.Online entries will receive email confirmation of payment from PayPal plus an email from ChipLitFest. International entrants: please send an international reply coupon from your Post Office rather than stamps.

Results:

The Top 10 entrants will be notified by 27 February 2018. If you have not heard from us by this date, it means your entry has not made the Top 10 in 2018. The winner and two runners up will be announced on or before 29 March 2018, a month prior to the festival weekend, 26 - 29 April 2018.

Copyright:

Unrestricted rights to each entry remains with the relevant author.

Judging:

The judges' decision is final and no individual correspondence can be entered into.

Judges will not comment on individual entries.

Experienced readers will assist the named judge(s) to compile a shortlist.

ChipLitFest reserves the right to change the judge(s) without notice.

Prizes:

ChipLitFest will award the following prizes:

First Prize: £500

Second Prize: £100

Third Prize: £50

ChipLitFest reserves the right to amend these rules where it is deemed necessary or appropriate. Changes to the rules will be posted on www.chiplitfest.com.

We prefer entrants to follow our entry instructions, but you will not be disqualified if you do not follow them to the letter. We only disqualify entries if they are named or if they exceed the word count (£5 for stories up to 2,500 words or £8 for stories up to 5,000 words, not including the title), or if they are not the author’s own original work.